Anna Westley | Childbirth Educator & Doula

"At every stage of labor, Anna explained the process, validated the intensity of my experiences, and made me feel safe. With her help, I was able to avoid getting an epidural, which was an important aspect of my birth plan."

"Anna came highly recommended from members of the yoga community, as well as the childbirth educator associated with our medical care. We were new to the area, had no family nearby, and wanted  a doula to be part of our experience. We sought a team-based approach with an active role for my partner. From the beginning we found Anna to be an incredible source of knowledge."

"You can tell Anna LOVES her job. She loves the birthing folks that she works with, the babies that come, and she has a great working relationship with the medical staff."

"As a person, Anna is genuine, kind and warm. As a doula, she proved herself to be a pregnancy, birth and baby encyclopedia! "

"Anna provided me with valuable information about what to expect during my planned cesarean birth… She helped me to retain a sense of my own agency in the midst of a highly-medicalized experience."

"It brought tears to my eyes writing this as I recalled how difficult that first month was, and what a relief it was to talk to someone who understood. 

I am grateful every time I breastfeed my baby and I'm grateful for the support Anna gave me in just the few visits we've had." 

"When our midwives recommended an early induction for our birth, Anna helped us navigate our disappointment and other emotions warmly and supportively. She helped us formulate questions and visualize the induction process."

"Anna was great at helping me figure out what roles I would play as a father during the birth. She stepped in at just the right point, guiding us through the process, giving support, helping us get what we needed from the midwife and other hospital staff. Anna's fun, funny, and caring, very much about helping you have the experience you want rather than prescribing someone else's version of a natural birth." 

"Anna knew I had used Hypnobirthing to prepare and was able to speak my language and immediately become a beacon of safety and support."

"I will never forget Anna's keen awareness, intelligence, calm and assured presence, and deep, heartfelt support for both me and my husband throughout our preparation for and during the birth." 

"One of the best things about Anna as a doula is that she is totally nonjudgmental and is only invested in your happiness and health, not any specific ideology. No matter what decisions you make, it's clear that she is there to ensure that you are happy and confident in your choices, whatever they are." 

"One of Anna's greatest strengths is her attention to the needs of both partners. My wife was initially unsure about working with a doula because she felt like she should be my primary support. Anna was sensitive to this concern and in the end my wife was very appreciative of Anna’s role not only in helping me through labor but in helping her make sure her own needs were met." 

"One of the things I appreciate most about Anna is her knowledge and experience with both natural birth and western medicine/allopathic practices and her complete nonjudgment and understanding about how both modalities can be helpful during labor and birth."

"Anna has a strong intuition about the progression of labor which helped me labor at home for as long as possible, confident that she would help us get to the hospital on time. Anna was a very calm and supportive presence and had great instincts about what would help me get through the more difficult contractions. She was a tremendous advocate for us, helping to ensure that our wishes were respected and that we understood our options every step of the way." 

"Despite reading quite a bit ahead of time, my partner and I both felt pretty lost at times during the birth, so having her there to come up with smart suggestions for my comfort and sanity was invaluable. She was also really flexible and good at reading the room, knowing instinctively when to step back and give us space vs. when we needed more active assistance or intervention."